Jimi Hendrix Encyclopedia

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May 01, 1968

The Experience work at the Record Plant in New York City. During the session, the group creates the basic track for “House Burning Down” and complete the recordings of “Gypsy Eyes” with take 5 being marked as ‘complete.’ The group also revisit “Tax Free” with Hendrix playing his guitar through a Leslie speaker on two of the takes; the later being marked as ‘use.’

Recording for “Three Little Bears” would take place at the Record Plant, where Steve Winwood, Jack Casady and a host of others visited the group. Although Hendrix originally coined the title, “Cherokee Mist” for the session, he later settled on “Three Little Bears” as its final working title. Throughout the session, Jimi developed a jazzy rhythm pattern that would eventually become “South Saturn Delta.” As the session progressed, Hendrix and bassist, Noel Redding get into a heated argument about the number of people in the studio. In his autobiography, Are You Experienced? Redding says, “There were tons of people in the studio – you couldn’t even move. It was a party not a session. He just said, ‘Relax man…’ I’d been relaxing for months, so I relaxed my way right out the place, not caring if I ever saw him again.” Taking a break from the session Hendrix leads an entourage to their local hangout at the Scene Club for some fun. Afterwards, Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell, Eddie Kramer, Winwood, Casady, Larry Coryell and others, return to the Record Plant to jam. These jams would become the foundation of “Voodoo Chile.” A number of recordings with Winwood and Casady participating were laid to tape on this night, with 3 of the takes being fused together as “Voodoo Chile Blues,” which was released on MCA’s 1994 release – :Blues.

Larry Coryell (playing 12-string guitar) joins Noel Redding, at this early morning session at the Record Plant for the recording of his self-penned number, “Little, Little Girl.” A rough mix of the recording was also produced during the session. Later, Hendrix and Kramer prepare rough mixes of “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” and “House Burning Down.”

Returning once again to the Record Plant, the Experience prepare a rough mix of “House Burning Down” but later mark it ‘Don’t Use’ and discard it. Overdubs, including Jimi’s lead guitar part for Redding’s “Little Miss Strange” are completed, as is the final mix of the track.

The Experience complete rough mixes for “Three Little Bears,” “Voodoo Chile,” and “Long Hot Summer Night” during sessions at the Record Plant. Jimi also returned to the April 22 recordings of “1983 (A Merman I Should Turn To Be)” by adding a series of new recordings that were later added as edit sections to create a single, unified master. With Hendrix taking the music in his own direction, Chas Chandler stepped down as the producer for the Electric Ladyland project. “Both I and the group were exhausted,” explained Chandler in an interview with John McDermott for the book Jimi Hendrix Sessions. “I had spent three years with the Animals, and the next day I was working with Hendrix. I had put in as much time on the job as Hendrix, Mitchell, and Redding – plus my time with the Animals. The last thing I wanted to be doing was fighting with Jimi in the studio and then (Michael) Jeffrey in the office. I just walked away.” In a separate session, also at the Record Plant, Noel Redding worked recorded “How Can I Live” with engineer Gary Kellgren.

Hendrix reportedly jams with Noel Redding, Frank Zappa, Arthur Brown, Steve Paul and Jimmy Carl Black at the Wreck Bar in the Castaways Hotel in Miami, Florida during the early morning hours. Redding boards a plane to return to London later that day.

Hendrix jams with members of Traffic, including Dave Mason, Chris Wood, Steve Winwood, Trevor Burton, Carl Wayne and Vic Briggs at Hallenstadion. Chris Wood records the jam on his portable tape recorder. The second night of performances for the Pop-Montserkonzert take place at Hallenstadion. Afterwards, Keith Altham interviews Hendrix for the June 8 edition of New Musical Express.